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Chad Svoboda of Strong Financial Resources presented insurance options for county employees to commissioners Tuesday after CoOpportunity has taken a dive towards liquidation.Svoboda presented three alternatives, two from Coventry and one from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).Despite BCBS’s lower annual premium, commissioners made the decision to go with Coventry due to BCBS’s pending contract issues with the Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), putting CHI hospitals like St. Francis in Grand Island out of network for coverage.The switch will be made and county employees will be covered with Coventry starting Feb. 1. If BCBS does happen to make an agreement with CHI in the near future, commissioners said they will revisit their insurance options and consider switching over.

Coming off a year in which the Aurora Robotic Huskies won the “most outstanding robot” honor at the US Open Championships, the team is hosting this year’s open robotics tournament again with a couple changes -- a new location and format.

A McCook native who has called Aurora home while practicing law since 2001 ventured out on his own with a private law firm in 2014 and is now well established on the west side of the downtown square.Scott Grafton said he had been thinking about venturing out on his own and is pleased that all the pieces finally fell into place.

After a snowstorm caused the cancellation of FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition on Jan. 4, Sunday was the perfect day for other robot teams to converge at the Edgerton and compete.Aurora’s robotics team, TechKnow Difficulties, welcomed two other teams from Lincoln and Broken Bow to come and share ideas and practice with each other in a competition-based format.

Dani Klute of Hampton decided three years ago, at the age of 42, to go back to school. That decision led her to Aurora, where she will be opening the doors this week taking clients in her new business, Therapeutic Massage & Bodyworks by Dani.Klute’s new venture is located in Urban Creations, a new salon and day spa which opened Monday on the west side of the square.

The city’s new mayor has a message for the citizens of Aurora -- your ideas and input are not only welcome, they are crucial to building a better community.Having taken the oath of office at the Dec. 9 meeting, former Ward 3 councilman Dave Long has moved down a few chairs in the city council chambers and is seated at the center of the table. He’s excited about his new role, but remains humble in his approach to city government.

Hampton village board members invested in technology Monday, agreeing to purchase GIS mapping information gathered by the county for $1,000.The data collected includes a variety of information regarding specific location of utilities and property lines, which board members agreed would be useful for both ongoing maintenance and in times of emergency.

The 4R board met Monday night with two new members at the table, Cyndi Muilenburg and Cory Ohlson. The board held an election of officers. Pat Shaw was voted in as the president of the board for another year. Scott Schuster was voted in as the vice president, Jay Oswald as secretary and Dan Pachta as treasurer.The principals gave board members reports of what is happening in each building. High school principal Doug Kittle announced that Aurora Public Schools will be hosting the UNL Tech Edge program on Jan. 28.